How to Stop French Doors Blowing in the Wind (4 Fixes)

Fix it · 3 min read · Updated October 2026

The most reliable way to stop French doors blowing around is a solid stop that catches the door before it opens fully. Closers and chains help much less than people hope.

Hold the door early, before the wind builds speed behind it, and fit the stop where nobody will trip over it.

Fixes for French doors blowing in the wind compared: a floor stop holds the door near the wall, a magnetic catch sticks it to the wall, a door closer slows it but is weak against strong wind, a chain can be straightened by wind and tear out its anchor — Four common fixes and where each one falls short. Based on: a Fine Homebuilding forum thread, First4Magnets.

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What people who fix this say

The best detail comes from a Fine Homebuilding forum thread. It dates from 2005, so the product links are old, but the lessons hold.

One builder made a freestanding stop from a 4 inch square tube welded to a flange, about 3 feet tall, with a rubber stop that catches the door near handle height at about 110 degrees. He called it the only thing that had worked at all, though a door on his building still blew off every 12 to 18 months.

Another poster uses floor stops set within a foot of the wall, where people do not walk. He says they hold doors just fine.

Where to put the stop

The stop has to slow the door well before it opens fully. A door that reaches the stop at speed builds momentum, and banging against a stop can damage the door.

Near the wall is the best spot for a floor stop. On a deck, a stop in the walking path becomes a tripping hazard.

Checklist for fitting a stop on French doors: catch the door well before it swings fully open, place the stop within a foot of the wall, check the door can take a bump, fix it into solid framing not loose trim — Four checks before you drill. Based on: a Fine Homebuilding forum thread.

Fix whatever you choose into solid framing, not loose trim, because wind loads are bigger than they look.

Magnetic catches

First4Magnets sells a magnetic stop for patio, bi-fold and French doors. It sticks the door to a wall, or to the parallel folding door, and releases when you pull. The curved design connects even at a slight angle.

It is the maker’s page, and it gives no pull force or door weight rating. Ask for the rating before you trust it on a heavy door in strong wind.

Sunlight through open French doors onto a balcony — A door held open by a catch stays out of the wind’s way. Photo: Saya Omar on Pexels.

Closers and chains

Opinions split on closers. One poster calls them pretty useless against a strong wind because they stop the door suddenly instead of slowing it. Another says they at least keep the door from bashing a stop and bouncing back.

Surface-mounted closers suit steel or fiberglass doors. Concealed ones need mortising into the door and may not suit a wood-clad door.

Chains are the weak spot. One poster reports that wind straightened chains into wire and tore out the anchors.

What I would fit · James Davis

I would start with a solid stop within a foot of the wall that catches the door well before full swing. I would skip chains and treat a closer as an extra, not the main fix.